Category Archives: Tournaments

The 17th edition of the Dubai Open Chess Tournament (also known as Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup) with 155 participants, 39 of which were grandmasters, took place from April 5 through 16 in Dubai. The participants travelled to the Emirates from 39 countries to join the race for the prize money fund of 50.000 USD (12.000 USD for the victor, the rest distributed between the first 18 ranks). One third of the players, 31 to be exact, came from India and another 25 from the United Arab Emirates.

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Source: http://www.dubaichess.ae

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Surprisingly, the Englishman David W. L. Howell, who held the highest ELO-rating of 2687 points amongst all participants, came off second and his strongest opponent Vladimir Fedossev from Russia (ELO 2674) came off third, while favorites such as Yuriy Kuzubov (ELO 2658) and Abhijeet Gupta (ELO 2629) had to comply with ranks 25 and 71. Azerbaijani Zaur Mammadov, on the other hand, made it to the Top 10 with an ELO-rating of “only” 2470 points.

Greatest winner of the tournament was Turkish grandmaster Dragan Solak who was born in Serbia. The 35 year-old prevailed over Axel Berglind, Salah Yousry, Tigran Harutyunian, Yuriy Kuzubov, and Yuri Solodovnichenko and tied against Vladimir Fedoseev, Igor Kovalenko, David Howell, and Eltaj Safarli through which he scored 7 out of 9 points like the players on following five ranks. He dominated the tie break round and grabbed the 12.000 USD prize money from right under David Howell’s nose.

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Final Results

Rank

Name

ELO

NAT

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

Pts.

Rtg.1

Rtg.2

Rtg.3

1

GM

Solak Dragan

2602

TUR

68s1

60w1

29s1

3w½

14w½

25s1

2w½

15s1

6w½

7

20684

0

55,5

2

GM

Howell David W L

2687

ENG

75s1

17w1

26s1

24w1

8s½

7w½

1s½

13w1

3s½

7

20583

0

55,5

3

GM

Fedoseev Vladimir

2674

RUS

79w1

58s1

44w1

1s½

15w1

4s½

53w1

7s½

2w½

7

20556

0

53,5

4

GM

Istratescu Andrei

2630

FRA

65s1

61w1

9s1

31w½

21s1

3w½

7s0

23w1

20w1

7

20426

0

53

5

GM

Ivanisevic Ivan

2638

SRB

123w1

37s½

32w½

43s1

35w½

39s1

23w½

53s1

7w1

7

19971

0

48,5

6

GM

Safarli Eltaj

2637

AZE

88s0

90w1

89s1

61w1

17s½

40w1

21s1

8w1

1s½

7

19511

0

48

7

GM

Shabalov Alexander

2500

USA

145w1

87s½

69w1

71w1

16s1

2s½

4w1

3w½

5s0

6,5

20547

0

50,5

8

GM

Grandelius Nils

2613

SWE

96s1

105w1

76s1

110w1

2w½

14s½

15w½

6s0

39w1

6,5

20447

0

49,5

9

IM

Mammadov Zaur

2470

AZE

90w1

111s1

4w0

84s½

72w1

24w1

22s1

25s½

12w½

6,5

19750

0

47

10

GM

Fier Alexandr

2624

BRA

78w1

74s½

52w1

14s0

69w1

70s½

32w½

37s1

31w1

6,5

19699

0

45

11

GM

Shimanov Aleksandr

2601

RUS

82w1

51s-

97s1

73s½

74w1

33w½

60s1

18w1

14s½

6,5

19300

0

45,5

12

GM

Rakhmanov Aleksandr

2623

RUS

114s1

48w0

65s1

49w½

41s1

36w1

54s½

17w1

9s½

6,5

19064

0

47

13

GM

Guseinov Gadir

2606

AZE

56w1

73s1

42w1

15s0

34w1

23s½

14w1

2s0

25w½

6

20498

0

51,5

14

GM

Kovalenko Igor

2665

LAT

38s1

50w½

33s1

10w1

1s½

8w½

13s0

36w1

11w½

6

20385

0

54,5

15

GM

Solodovnichenko Yuri

2584

UKR

117s1

77w1

51s1

13w1

3s0

20w1

8s½

1w0

16s½

6

20363

0

51

16

GM

Zhigalko Sergei

2657

BLR

92w1

54s1

39w1

21s½

7w0

35s½

42w1

31s½

15w½

6

20217

0

49

17

IM

Das Sayantan

2439

IND

107w1

2s0

56w1

66s1

6w½

27s½

35w1

12s0

53w1

6

20062

0

51

18

GM

Petrosian Tigran L.

2660

ARM

66w1

33s½

37w1

20s0

52s1

110w1

31w½

11s0

32w1

6

20035

0

50

19

GM

Bartel Mateusz

2642

POL

64s1

133w1

40s½

23w½

29s1

53w0

70s½

76w1

24s½

6

20028

0

46,5

20

GM

Ipatov Alexander

2614

TUR

93w1

69s½

55w1

18w1

31s½

15s0

43w1

54w1

4s0

6

19971

0

48

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Five participants were awarded with FIDE titles after the tournament: IM Zaur Mammadov fulfilled the last GM norm and was thus announced grandmaster. Vignesh Nr, Abishek Kelkar, and Deshpande Aniruddha from India accomplished the IM norms. Lastly, Wang Shanshan secured the title “Woman International Master” (WIM).

The German Chess Major League season ended yesterday and, for the 10th time in a row, the OSG Baden-Baden secured the championship title. Several super-grandmasters of sixteen competing teams with ELO-ratings of 2700 and above, all ranking in the current Top 50, joined the race. World-class players, such as Aronian, Vachier-Lagrave, Adams, Giri, Gelfand, Rapport, Fressinet, Eljanov, Jakovenko, and Almasi proved their worth in the cities Baden-Baden, Schwäbisch Hall, Bremen and Mülheim.

One day prior to the official season end, the OSG Baden-Baden had already been sure to come off best team. Runner-up Werder Bremen was also in a secure place prematurely. The real competition was thus fought for third rank between the teams from Hockenheim and Schwäbisch Hall. Not even the remarkable victory of Li Chao against Anton Guijarro in Round 15 could save Schwäbisch Hall from the inevitable: The SV 1930 Hockenheim had scored two victories and five draws during the last round which gave them a half-point advantage to finally take home the bronze medal.

The OSG Baden-Baden managed to remain undefeated throughout the entire season. Especially Arkadij Naiditsch (12 victories out of 15 duels) and Etienne Bacrot (scored 8.5 points for his team) contributed to the team’s success. The highest success rate within the team was Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s who won 6 out of 7 games (equal to 86%). Another great contribution to the overall victory wasn’t made by superstars like Aronian, Svidler, Adams, Bacrot, Naiditsch, Kasimdzhanov, or Vallejo Pons – German grandmaster Philipp Schlosser (ELO 2570) also helped with 7.5 points. Having won 14 rounds, the OSG Baden-Baden more than deserved to take home the trophy.

From March 10 to 18 2015, the traditional chess tournament Reykjavik Open was staged for the 51st time by the Icelandic capital.

Among the 274 participants from 37 countries were 35 international grandmasters, elevating the event to world-class level.

93 of these participants originated from Iceland, 36 came from Norway, 15 were Germany, each 13 from the United States and Denmark, and another 10 from Canada and France travelled to Iceland to make sure that their countries were well-represented at the tournament.

The upper thirty ranks of the worldwide standings were embodied only by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, David Navara, and Pavel Eljanov.

Dutchman Erwin L’ami who was not considered a favorite player with an ELO of 2605 points, delivered and excellent performance. Even the last critics were convinced in Round 7 when he defeated Mamedyarov (ELO 3756). He managed to remain completely undefeated until the final round – only then he lost to Eljanov. Nevertheless, he won the overall tournament: with 8.5 out of 10 points, he secured first rank which was absolutely deserved after an ELO-performance of incredible 2826 points.

Brazilian player Alexandr Fier surprised as well, ranking 4th after beating Navara in Round 8. The Frenchman and bronze-medal-winner Fabien Libiszewski performed high above his usual gaming level with an extra 200 ELO points.

The first ten ranks were rewarded with prize money ranging from €350 (10th) to €5.000 (1st).

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Final Results Top 30

Rk.

Name

FED

Pts.

1

GM

L’ami Erwin

NED

8,5

2

GM

Eljanov Pavel

UKR

8

3

GM

Libiszewski Fabien

FRA

8

4

GM

Fier Alexandr

BRA

7,5

5

GM

Naroditsky Daniel

USA

7,5

6

GM

Mamedyarov Shakhriyar

AZE

7,5

7

GM

Melkumyan Hrant

ARM

7,5

8

GM

Hansen Eric

CAN

7,5

9

GM

Hammer Jon Ludvig

NOR

7,5

10

GM

Gupta Abhijeet

IND

7,5

11

GM

Stefansson Hannes

ISL

7,5

12

GM

Danielsen Henrik

ISL

7,5

13

GM

Jussupow Artur

GER

7,5

14

GM

Grandelius Nils

SWE

7,5

15

GM

Gao Rui

CHN

7

16

GM

Granda Zuniga Julio E

PER

7

17

GM

Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn

ISL

7

18

GM

Jones Gawain C B

ENG

7

19

GM

Maze Sebastien

FRA

7

20

IM

Norowitz Yaacov

USA

7

21

GM

Grover Sahaj

IND

7

22

GM

Idani Pouya

IRI

7

23

WGM

Khademalsharieh Sarasadat

IRI

7

24

GM

Cornette Matthieu

FRA

7

25

GM

Le Roux Jean-Pierre

FRA

7

26

GM

Rombaldoni Axel

ITA

7

27

GM

Movsesian Sergei

ARM

7

28

IM

Sarkar Justin

USA

7

29

FM

Antal Tibor Kende

HUN

7

30

FM

Rosner Jonas

GER

7

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The ELO-rating is only a guideline and has only limited validity in determining a player’s strength – which the Reykjavik Open proved yet again.

While David Navara with an ELO of 2736 points didn’t even make it to the Top 30, other players like Johaneson (ELO 2212), Antal (ELO 2317), Khadermalsharieh (ELO 2357), or Sarkar (ELO 2376) surpassed him in means of playing performance.

The youngest participant was American Hans Niemann who came off 80th at an incredibly young age of eleven.

From February 24 to March 9 2015 Jerusalem in Israel was stage to the European Individual Chess Championship 2015. 250 participants from 33 countries joined in – 101 players from Israel, 42 from Russia, 13 from the Ukraine, and 9 from both Armenia and Turkey. 113 Grandmasters were amongst them and promised a suspenseful event.

The competition was carried out in Swiss Tournament System and the prize money fund contained 120,000 Euros.

The Top 10 certainly tended towards Eastern Europe – Four Ukrainian and three Russian players led the field, barely leaving room for Czech player David Navara (silver medal), the Polish Mateusz Bartel (bronze meda) and Turk Alexander Ipatov (7th rank).

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Final ranks Top 30

Rk.

Name

FED

Pts.

1

GM

Najer Evgeniy

RUS

8,5

2

GM

Navara David

CZE

8

3

GM

Bartel Mateusz

POL

8

4

GM

Khismatullin Denis

RUS

8

5

GM

Vovk Yuri

UKR

7,5

6

GM

Korobov Anton

UKR

7,5

7

GM

Ipatov Alexander

TUR

7,5

8

GM

Eljanov Pavel

UKR

7,5

9

GM

Volokitin Andrei

UKR

7,5

10

GM

Matlakov Maxim

RUS

7,5

11

GM

Sjugirov Sanan

RUS

7,5

12

GM

Moiseenko Alexander

UKR

7,5

13

GM

Motylev Alexander

RUS

7,5

14

Iljiushenok Ilia

RUS

7,5

15

GM

Kempinski Robert

POL

7,5

16

GM

Smirin Ilia

ISR

7,5

17

GM

Cheparinov Ivan

BUL

7,5

18

GM

Sargissian Gabriel

ARM

7,5

19

GM

Popov Ivan

RUS

7,5

20

GM

Laznicka Viktor

CZE

7,5

21

GM

Rodshtein Maxim

ISR

7,5

22

GM

Brkic Ante

CRO

7,5

23

GM

Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter

GER

7,5

24

GM

Grachev Boris

RUS

7,5

25

GM

Nabaty Tamir

ISR

7,5

26

GM

Can Emre

TUR

7,5

27

GM

Nepomniachtchi Ian

RUS

7

28

GM

Goganov Aleksey

RUS

7

29

GM

Bukavshin Ivan

RUS

7

30

GM

Vitiugov Nikita

RUS

7

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Three out of five participants ranging at 2700+ points, such as Etienne Bacrot (32nd rank), Ian Nepomniachtchi (27th rank) and Nikita Vitiugov (30th rank) surprisingly missed the Top 20 ranking. 23 year-old Russian Ilia Ilijushenok with an ELO-performance of 2680 points, on the other hand, scored a whole 230 points higher than his usual level and made a deserved 14th rank. Just as well performed Yuri Vovk (ELO 2588, Performance 2730) and Alexander Ipatov (ELO 2592, Performance 2719).

Almost half of all Top 30 players, twelve to be exact, were Russian participants. German player Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu came off 23rd.

From February 14 through 18 2015, the Georgian capital Tbilisi hosted the third event of the new FIDE Grand Prix Series. The World Championship cycle 2014/2015 consists of four tournaments – which is certainly an extraordinary setting, as usually six tournaments took place during one Grand Prix Series. The FIDE has not pointed out any reasons for this derivative in particular, but people speculate that not enough applications for hosting the tournaments have been submitted. There is a prize money fund of 120,000 Euro per tournament, 20,000 Euro of which go to the winner. Both winner and runner-up secure the right to participate in the Candidates’ Tournament.

The FIDE’s timing was subject to criticism, as the 1st Grand Prix Tournament ended only five days prior to the beginning of the next. Not exactly a walk in the park for the players who attended the first and second event (Caruana, Gelfand, Karjakin, Nakamura, Radjabov, Mamedyarov, Kasimdzhanov, and Andreikin). The three months break in between the second and third events gave the players time for thorough preparation.

Especially Tomashevsky seemed to have used this time well – against all expectations he played a successful tournament and took home the trophy. He remained undefeated throughout all eleven duels and prevailed not only over favorite Grischuk in Round 3, but also over Jobava, Mamedyarov, Vachier-Lagrave, and Kasimdzhanov. A total of five victories and eight points on the tournament account gave him an impressive advantage. He even left behind runner-up Jakovenko (two victories, 6.5 points) far behind. A surprising but well-deserved victory for the 27 year-old Russian.

The disappointing bottom rank took Andreikin, the winner of the generic propecia 2nd Grand Prix tournament, who only scored four points with no victories and three defeats.

The legendary Zurich Chess Challenge took place from February 13 to 19, 2015 at the “Savoy Baur en Ville” in the Swiss city Zurich. Title defender Magnus Carlsen did not show up this year, but the world-class competitors certainly made up for it. The six participants were:

Winner of the overall rating Hikaru Nakamura who persistently fought for the title and stood strong through the Armageddon tiebreak against Anand.

Runner-up and former World Champion Visvanathan Anand who won the Classical with seven points.

Russian talent Vladimir Kramnik, who won the Rapid competition, but only made it to 3rd rank in total standings.

Levon Aronian, who had to comply with 4th rank and the victory of the Blitz competition.

25 year-old Sergey Karjakin, who currently ranks 12th in worldwide standings, but only ranked 5th in Zurich.

Italian player Fabiano Caruana, runner-up in world rankings, who surprisingly and disappointingly ended up in bottom rank.

Once again, Germany was stage to a world-class tournament! From February 2 to 9 2015, Baden-Baden hosted the Grenke Chess Classic 2015.

The constellation of participants couldn’t have been any more promising:

First of all, the Norwegian World Champion and “Mozart of Chess” Magnus Carlsen with the highest ELO-rating ever recorded in history, 2862 points. For six years, the Germans had been excited to see him play in their country, and it was definitely worth the wait. Carlsen impressed with his performance – 4.5 out of 7 points after the final round and a thrilling tiebreak with the German Grandmaster Arkadij Naiditsch.

After two rounds of each ten minutes plus two seconds per move and two victories of White, another two rounds were necessary to determine the final winner. These additional two rounds lasted only five minutes each plus two seconds per move. Carlsen began the 3rd tiebreak round with the White pieces, but couldn’t avoid another draw. The 4th tiebreak round seemed auspicious for Naiditsch, but nevertheless ended in a draw. The last and decisive round was finally played with six minutes for White and five minutes for Black plus each two seconds per move. Carlsen (playing White) was obviously in advantage and after the highest possible level of suspense, after 32 moves, and at 11.50 p.m. German time the duel ended in Carlson’s favor.

Secondly, the current runner-up in the world rankings(ELO 2820), Fabiano Caruana, was eagerly expected to show at the event. He of all people had the potential to challenge Magnus Carlsen. The Italian is considered a serious favorite for the upcoming World Championship. The 22 year-old won an incredible seven matches in a row at the Sinquefield Cup 2014 and finally won with 8.5 out of 10 points (a total of three points ahead of Carlsen!). His ELO-performance of 3103 is certainly a world record! At the Grenke Chess Classics 2015, he scored 4 out of 7 points and ranked 4th. During the entire tournament he remained undefeated and scored a victory against Aronian.

Thirdly, the Indian Grandmaster Visvanathan Anand (ELO 2797) who is not only the current number five in world rankings, but also title defender at the Grenke Chess Classics. The 45 year-old former World Champion had a great comeback last year when winning the Candidates Tournament in Chanty Mansijsk and qualifying as Magnus Carlsen’s World Championship opponent. Since the devastating defeat at the World Championship duel last November the event in Baden-Baden was his first meet with his biggest opponent Carlsen. After a relatively good start (first three rounds with draws), Vishy had to admit defeat to the World Champion yet again and lost to Aronian in the following round. In the end, he scored only 2.5 out of 7 points, due to another defeat through Adams, and ended up in a disappointing 7th rank.

Fourthly, Levon Aronian with 2797 ELO points and 6th rank in worldwide standings has not fallen behind. The Armenian superstar is multiple World Champion in Blitz Chess and Chess960 and is cherished at home like no other. In May 2012, Levon Aronian was second best player in FIDE world rankings at 2825 ELO points and third best player in history. Recently, his performance has weakened a little, but at the Grenke Chess Classics 2015 he was certainly back in shape: He played draws in five out of seven duels, scored one victory against Vishy Anand, and suffered one defeat against Fabiano Caruana (which is definitely not a shame). With 3.5 points and 5th rank he couldn’t continue his top performance, but left Baden-Baden with a solid impression.

Fifthly, 43 year-old Michal Adams with an ELO-rating of 2738 points who is currently number 17 in world rankings. The Briton was already participant of the 2013 edition of the Grenke Chess Classics and placed 4th. Germany seemed to have brought him luck in the past – he won the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund ahead of Vladimir Kramnik. At the Grenke Chess Classics 2015 he scored 4 points and ranked 3rd, ahead of Caruana, Aronian, and Anand. Good job!

Sixthly, Grandmaster Etienne Bacrot who was announced youngest Grandmaster of all time at the early age of fourteen. The seven times French Champion had a powerful start into a promising chess career, but couldn’t keep up with the pace in the long run. Today, the 31 year-old Frenchman holds an ELO of 2711 points and ranks in the Top 50 of the world rankings. Compared to Carlsen, Caruana, Anand, Aronian, and Adams he is far behind on his 36th rank. At the Grenke Chess Classics 2015, he played all seven rounds in draws and ranked 6thin the end. Not quite a surprise.

Seventhly, Arkadij Naiditsch who seriously knows how to cause a stir. The 29 year-old German started at the tournament as rank 38 in worldwide standings and an ELO-rating of 2694. Naiditsch became Germany’s youngest Grandmaster at 15 years old. Highlights of his career were the victory at the Dortmund Chess Days 2005 (over Vladimir Kramnik, Peter Leko, and Michael Adams) and the victory over Magnus Carlsen in 2014 at the Chess Olympics in Tromsö (as a member of the German national team). That this achievement wasn’t pure luck, became obvious when he repeated his incredible performance in round 3 of the Grenke Chess Classics 2015 and beat the World Champion yet again! In round 4 he prevailed over Baramidze and managed to get through the tournament with top-opponents without a single defeat! This extraordinary performance caused him to be equal in points with Carlsen after round 7. What followed was a nerve-wrecking playoff in 5 rounds that seriously got Carlsen into a sweat – unfortunately unsuccessfully. He had to comply with 2nd rank of which he can be very proud.

Eighthly, and lastly, the youngest German national playerDavid Baramidze. The 26 year-old was bottom rank in both start and end rakings with an ELO of 2594 points (number 237 in world rankings). From the very beginning, he was hopelessly inferior. At the Grenke Chess Classics 2014, he ranked second behind Arkadij Naiditsch and thus qualified for this year’s event. Baramidze started off as underdog in Baden-Baden and would have loved to cause one or another surprise, but with his top-class opponents he stood no chance. After two draws a sequence of unfortunate defeats began: Baramidze lost to Adams, Naiditsch, Carlsen, Anand, and Caruana. With 1.5 points he ended up in bottom rank.

From January 25 to February 2 2015 the Caleta Hotel in Gibraltar hosted the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters. Amongst other rewards, the winner could expect 20,000 British Pounds prize money, while the second and third rank still won 16,000 and 12,000 British Pounds.

This outlook lured 257 participants from 46 countries to the event. Germany was the best represented country with 30 players, followed by England (23) and Spain (19). As there were no qualification requirements, many newcomers took the chance and competed against well-known Grandmasters like Veselin Topalov, Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, Nikita Vitiugov, Dmitry Jakovenko, Pentala Harikrishna, Yangyi Yu,and Yifan Hou. The results were final after 10th round.

As can be seen in the ranking, Russia was represented four times in the Top 20 (Vitiugov, Matlakov, Svidler, Jakovenko) – best performance of all participating nations.

Victor Hikaru Nakamura was able to win the first six rounds in a row and remained undefeated with another three draws (Round 7 against runner-up DavidHowell, Round 9 against Bachmann, Round 10 against Harikrishna).

Little surprising was Magnus Carlsen’s victory with 9 out of 13 points. His opponents, however, were following up closely: Vachier-Lagrave as well as Giri, Ding, and So scored 8.5 points and ranked shortly behind him in the final standings. Especially Vachier-Lagrave became a threat to the current World Champion. If Carlsen wouldn’t have scored his last half of a point in the final round, the Frenchman would have taken home the trophy.

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Final Rankings

Name

Score

Rating

TPR

Nationality

1

Carlsen, M.

9.0 / 13

2862

2878

NOR

2

Vachier-Lagrave, M.

8.5 / 13

2757

2855

FRA

3

Giri, A.

8.5 / 13

2784

2853

NED

4

So, W.

8.5 / 13

2762

2854

USA

5

Ding, L.

8.5 / 13

2732

2857

CHN

6

Ivanchuk, V.

7.5 / 13

2715

2805

UKR

7

Caruana, F.

7.0 / 13

2820

2769

ITA

8

Radjabov, T.

6.0 / 13

2734

2718

AZE

9

Wojtaszek, R.

5.5 / 13

2744

2689

POL

10

Aronian, L.

5.5 / 13

2797

2685

ARM

11

Hou, Y.

5.0 / 13

2673

2664

CHN

12

Saric, I.

4.5 / 13

2666

2642

CRO

13

Van Wely, L.

4.0 / 13

2667

2611

NED

14

Jobava, B.

3.0 / 13

2727

2536

GEO

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Results of Rounds

Round 1 – Saturday the 10th

Radjabov, T. – Van Wely, L.

½-½

Ivanchuk, V. – Jobava, B.

1-0

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Hou, Y.

1-0

Ding, L. – Caruana, F.

0-1

Saric, I. – Aronian, L.

½-½

Giri, A. – Carlsen, M.

½-½

So, W. – Wojtaszek, R.

½-½

Round 2 – Sunday the 11th

Van Wely, L. – Wojtaszek, R.

½-½

Carlsen, M. – So, W.

½-½

Aronian, L. – Giri, A.

½-½

Caruana, F. – Saric, I.

1-0

Hou, Y. – Ding, L.

0-1

Jobava, B. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

½-½

Radjabov, T. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

Round 3 – Monday the 12th

Ivanchuk, V. – Van Wely, L.

1-0

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Radjabov, T.

½-½

Ding, L. – Jobava, B.

1-0

Saric, I. – Hou, Y.

½-½

Giri, A. – Caruana, F.

½-½

So, W. – Aronian, L.

1-0

Wojtaszek, R. – Carlsen, M.

1-0

Round 4 – Tuesday the 13th

Van Wely, L. – Carlsen, M.

0-1

Aronian, L. – Wojtaszek, R.

½-½

Caruana, F. – So, W.

½-½

Hou, Y. – Giri, A.

½-½

Jobava, B. – Saric, I.

0-1

Radjabov, T. – Ding, L.

0-1

Ivanchuk, V. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

1-0

Round 5 – Thursday the 15th

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Van Wely, L.

½-½

Ding, L. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

Saric, I. – Radjabov, T.

0-1

Giri, A. – Jobava, B.

1-0

So, W. – Hou, Y.

½-½

Wojtaszek, R. – Caruana, F.

1-0

Carlsen, M. – Aronian, L.

1-0

Round 6 – Friday the 16th

Van Wely, L. – Aronian, L.

½-½

Caruana, F. – Carlsen, M.

0-1

Hou, Y. – Wojtaszek, R.

½-½

Jobava, B. – So, W.

0-1

Radjabov, T. – Giri, A.

½-½

Ivanchuk, V. – Saric, I.

½-½

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Ding, L.

1-0

Round 7 – Saturday the 17th

Ding, L. – Van Wely, L.

1-0

Saric, I. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

0-1

Giri, A. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

So, W. – Radjabov, T.

½-½

Wojtaszek, R. – Jobava, B.

0-1

Carlsen, M. – Hou, Y.

1-0

Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.

½-½

Round 8 – Sunday the 18th

Van Wely, L. – Caruana, F.

0-1

Hou, Y. – Aronian, L.

½-½

Jobava, B. – Carlsen, M.

0-1

Radjabov, T. – Wojtaszek, R.

1-0

Ivanchuk, V. – So, W.

0-1

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Giri, A.

1-0

Ding, L. – Saric, I.

1-0

Round 9 – Tuesday the 20th

Saric, I. – Van Wely, L.

½-½

Giri, A. – Ding, L.

1-0

So, W. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

½-½

Wojtaszek, R. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

Carlsen, M. – Radjabov, T.

1-0

Aronian, L. – Jobava, B.

1-0

Caruana, F. – Hou, Y.

½-½

Round 10 – Wednesday the 21st

Van Wely, L. – Hou, Y.

1-0

Jobava, B. – Caruana, F.

0-1

Radjabov, T. – Aronian, L.

½-½

Ivanchuk, V. – Carlsen, M.

½-½

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Wojtaszek, R.

½-½

Ding, L. – So, W.

½-½

Saric, I. – Giri, A.

0-1

Round 11 – Friday the 23rd

Giri, A. – Van Wely, L.

1-0

So, W. – Saric, I.

1-0

Wojtaszek, R. – Ding, L.

0-1

Carlsen, M. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

½-½

Aronian, L. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

Caruana, F. – Radjabov, T.

½-½

Hou, Y. – Jobava, B.

1-0

Round 12 – Saturday the 24th

Van Wely, L. – Jobava, B.

½-½

Radjabov, T. – Hou, Y.

½-½

Ivanchuk, V. – Caruana, F.

½-½

Vachier-Lagrave, M. – Aronian, L.

½-½

Ding, L. – Carlsen, M.

½-½

Saric, I. – Wojtaszek, R.

1-0

Giri, A. – So, W.

1-0

Round 13 – Sunday the 25th

So, W. – Van Wely, L.

1-0

Wojtaszek, R. – Giri, A.

½-½

Carlsen, M. – Saric, I.

½-½

Aronian, L. – Ding, L.

0-1

Caruana, F. – Vachier-Lagrave, M.

0-1

Hou, Y. – Ivanchuk, V.

½-½

Jobava, B. – Radjabov, T.

1-0

xxx

As obvious in the individual round results, only Voitaszek managed to prevail over Carlsen in Round 3 (52nd move).

Liren Ding seized the opportunity in the Netherlands and fought his way up the international ELO-rankings of the world’s best chess players. By now, he has reached a well-deserved 14th rank, while Giri and So were able to move to the Top 20 due to their great performances at the Tata Steel Tournament.

The historically interesting Hastings international Chess Congress was staged from December 29, 2014 to January 6, 2015 by the city of Hastings in England. For the event (9 rounds Swiss Tournament System) 113 players from 27 countries gathered, half of which (63 players) came from England. Sadly, only two Brits made it to the Top 10.

Players of different playing strengths (ELO-ratings between 1574 and 2676 points) made the tournament diverse and suspenseful. An especially outstanding performance was delivered by Chinese player and winner of the 2,000 British Pounds prize money – Zhao Jun.

The 28 year-old holds a current ELO of 2585 points and ranks 11th in the list of Chinese top-players. He dominated the first six rounds without exception. After the final 9th round, he had secured 8 points and achieved an incredible rating-performance of 2852.

Top 20 Rankings

Rank

Name

ELO

FED

Rating

1

GM

Zhao Jun

2585

CHN

8.0

2

GM

Mista Aleksander

2614

POL

7.0

3

GM

Fier Alexandr

2592

BRA

7.0

4

IM

Kjartansson Gudmundur

2451

ISL

7.0

5

GM

Rodshtein Maxim

2676

ISR

6.5

6

GM

Lagarde Maxime

2576

FRA

6.5

7

GM

Hawkins Jonathan

2552

ENG

6.5

8

GM

Vakhidov Jahongir

2502

UZB

6.5

9

GM

Arkell Keith C

2489

ENG

6.5

10

GM

Edouard Romain

2659

FRA

6.0

11

GM

Bogner Sebastian

2586

SUI

6.0

12

GM

Sengupta Deep

2566

IND

6.0

13

GM

Flear Glenn C

2460

ENG

6.0

14

IM

Gledura Benjamin

2450

HUN

6.0

15

FM

Longson Alexander

2339

ENG

6.0

16

Kheit Wahbi

2223

ISR

6.0

17

Anderson John

2180

ENG

6.0

18

GM

Hebden Mark L

2523

ENG

5.5

19

IM

Galyas Miklos

2428

HUN

5.5

20

FM

Jackson James P

2356

ENG

5.5

The award for best duel during the tournament was given to the Pole Aleksander Mista for his victory over Edourard.